


In Media Res: Avery

by CarnalCoffeeBean



Series: In Media Res--House Rubortem [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-08
Updated: 2019-02-08
Packaged: 2019-10-24 10:14:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17702444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CarnalCoffeeBean/pseuds/CarnalCoffeeBean





	In Media Res: Avery

Avery Lee believes in things.  
She believes in the old Earth myths--ghosts, monsters, haunts, banshee’s wailing, things that go bump in the night.  
She’s not dumb. She knows other people don’t believe those things, scoff at her.  
They haven’t lived the life she’s lived.  
She hasn’t anything with evidence, not quite--out of the corner of her eye, sometimes, movement, blink and you’ll miss it, it’s gone; a cup of tea gone too cold too suddenly, reaching for it and feeling like she’s just plunged her hand into Mars’ winter; a face in the mirror, sometimes, that twists into something not quite her own, something she can’t recognize.

It’s not like she’s afraid, more curious. Always has been. They’ve never hurt her, after all, only moved her books two inches to the left and knocked over a couple of plates once.

Juliet asked why she’d left a third cup of tea out, once, and she’d shrugged and said it was for a friend. The next day, her favorite comb was back in its place.

It must get lonely, after all--colonization on Mars is only a few ages old, which means the ghosts and spooks must be so lonesome. Not like on Earth, where they’ve had eons to accumulate and acclimatize. Mars has its own degree of hauntings, but they tend to be more ancient-alien-relic kind. Humans haven’t really gotten a chance to sink their teeth into Mars, after all--they just exist in soap bubbles wherever they can find room.

So she… well, she can’t do much, Avery supposes. It’s not like Mars is known for its growing seasons, after all. But she puts holly and fennel seeds around the house, makes sure to sleep with a cotton bag filled with anise under her head. Tries some old rituals, just to see if anything works. Sometimes drags Juliet, darling Juliet into it, too, just for moral support and a clear head. 

Avery Lee believes in other things, too, simpler things--like hard work, success, generosity. She gets a job after school, then another one and another one, all small things, backstage, running around, glorified coffee-girl things, mainly. She keeps holly and fennel in her bag, sneaks some into Juliet's bags when she refuses it. Burns a few bay leaves. Lands a few commercials. Works her ass off, keeps going. Lands a bigger part, gives it her all, candle burning at both ends, never letting them see it, hiding behind a decent makeup regimen and Miss Mars’ Most Dazzling Smile three years running. She buys and tends to earth grass, a tricky little thing that grows where it wants and spreads where it’s not needed, mixes dandelion roots and seeds in, adds ground ginger and cinnamon. Carries Mars dirt around in another satchel, takes it out and tosses a little, just to see what the fates have to say. Tries out for _Rubortem Lane_ with Juliet in the waiting room, too. They read together, the smell of Earth garden subtle in the air.

Avery gets the lead, Juliet the second. Avery jokes that if Juliet had been carrying a satchel, she’d have won the part. Juliet smiles and pushes at her arm, says it’s all talent anyways. Avery grabs her hand and doesn’t let go.

It’s a spooky show, and it’s no use denying Avery’s house is a spooky house, so they use her house for filming, sometimes, in the smaller scenes, when the main set isn’t needed. It’s not so bad, though camera-men do sometimes complain of random chills in the air.

Avery Lee believes in a lot of things. She’s heard of love before, big, romantic, all-encompassing, throw-it-all-away, ride-and-die kind of love, the love that you’d throw yourself in front of a speeding train for without a moment’s notice. She’s not sure if she wants that love, but she does know she’s very good at faking it--at this point, all the blogs are telling her.

So when she walks out of a tent ready to shoot _Rubortmen Lane_ 's season two finale and sees a quiet, stocky woman with glasses on, hair tied back neatly, and an expression that said this was beneath her paygrade and, in all likelihood, her assistant’s as well—well. 

It takes her by surprise, is all. But that doesn’t mean she doesn’t know what to do.

Avery Lee lifts her chin, smiles, coos, and simpers--all the usual tricks, the ones that have people falling at her feet left and right, the ones Juliet laughs at. The lady looks at her, expressionless, and tells her her left eyebrow is slightly misaligned. Avery moves closer, asks her how she could possibly fix perfection, and the lady straight-up tells her.

Avery laughs. She’s been told a lot of things in her life, but this might be the first time someone told her how to improve on her looks. 

She quite likes it.

The lady looks uncomfortable, but only mildly so.

Avery Lee believes in things sight unseen; that’s how it goes, isn’t it? Dream hard enough, work hard enough, pick some plants, throw some dirt, make the luck you need yourself, and you’ll get there. 

Rebecca Heart believes in nothing she cannot see, cannot prove, but that’s okay. Avery Lee looks at the face above her in the clouded night, calm as the endless sea. Quietly she adds one more thing she now believes in to the list and resolves to believe enough for the both of them.


End file.
